John Switzer commentary: April may prove to be the cruelest, kindest month

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Sunday April 6, 2014 6:18 AM

Most of March was cold and generally inclement, so perhaps April will bring some better
weather.

But, as meteorologists have told me many times, a cold spring is not all that bad. A spring that
gradually warms up is better for tranquil weather, they say. Daily temperatures in March averaged
about 4.5 degrees below normal. That kind of weather diminishes the possibility that cold fronts
will be smashing into warm-air masses, which can result in severe weather.

April can be as delightful as a Walt Disney animated movie — you know, “plenty of sunshine
coming my way” — and it can also be contrary.

I am reminded of Robert Frost’s poem
Two Tramps in Mud Time and this verse:

The sun was warm but the wind was chill.

You know how it is with an April day

When the sun is out and the wind is still,

You’re one month on in the middle of May.

But if you so much as dare to speak,

A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,

A wind comes off a frozen peak,

And you’re two months back in the middle of March.

The name of the April moon reminds us of one of the colors tulips can be. It is called the pink
moon, and it will be full on April 15. The
Old Farmer’s Almanac tells us that a total eclipse of the moon will be visible throughout
the Unites States and Canada on that night. The partial phase will begin at 1:58 a.m.; totality
starts at 3:06 a.m. Only people in eastern states will be able to see the end of the event.

It could be cloudy that night, though, in which case the eclipse won’t be visible.

I have noticed that lawns are becoming green. By later in April, woods and meadows should also
have a greenish cast to them. Green is good. The buds will be swelling and the maples will be
flowering.

What we will be witnessing is the annual awakening of nature, truly an amazing scene. This is
the opening act of a classic play, and everyone will have a front-row seat.

In April, color begins to replace the drab browns and tans of winter. Even the first dandelions
that appear on lawns are to be admired. As Hal Borland wrote in his book
Twelve Moons of the Year, “There aren’t many flowers prettier than a dandelion, if you can
look at a dandelion as a bloom, not a weed. It’s color is magnificent, one of the richest toned
yellows anywhere around.”

I think dandelions seem to glow in brilliant sunshine. But eventually, there will be too much of
a good thing, and I will have to get out the herbicide.